Brick

Pre-reading activities

**1. What are they made of?** Bricks are primarily made of clay materials, or ground up shale, with other materials and binders added.

**2. What are they used for?** Bricks are used for building, block paving and pavement. In the USA, brick pavement was found incapable of withstanding heavy traffic, but it is coming back into use as a method of traffic calming or as a decorative surface in pedestrian precincts. For example, in the early 1900s, most of the streets in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan were paved with brick. Today, there are only about 20 blocks of brick paved streets remaining (totalling less than 0.5 percent of all the streets in the city limits).

Bricks in the metallurgy and glass industries are often used for lining furnaces, in particular refractory bricks such as silica, magnesia, chamotte and neutral ( chromomagnesite ) refractory bricks. This type of brick must have good thermal shock resistance, refractoriness under load, high melting point, and satisfactory porosity. There is a large refractory brick industry, especially in the United Kingdom , Japan , the United States , and the Netherlands.

In the United Kingdom, bricks have been used in construction for centuries. Until recently, almost all houses were built almost entirely from bricks. Although many houses in the UK are now built using a mixture of concrete blocks and other materials, many houses are skinned with a layer of bricks on the outside for aesthetic appeal. **3. How many types of brick are there?** Generally are three types of bricks namely,

  Bricklaying is a trade that specialises in building and repairing walls, floors, partitions, fireplaces, chimneys, as well as other structures with brick or concrete block. A bricklayer may use their skills for residential or large commercial development projects. Additionally, bricklayers may also refurbish brickwork on restoration projects. **5. Describe 2 brick laying techniques?** **Mortaring** To lay bricks correctly, you must spread cement mortar in a mud bed with a trowel, as well as smear it onto bricks so they bond together. This trowel is used to scoop up mortar from a mortar board and spread it out in a straight line into the mortar bed, which is 2 to 4 inches thick and 4 inches wide. The trowel is also used to smear mortar onto the ends of each brick before pushing the brick into the mortar bed and sticking it to other brick end to end.
 * 1) First class bricks
 * 2) Second class bricks
 * 3) Third class bricks
 * 4. What is the meaning of "brick laying" techniques?**


 * Staggering**

 Bricks are always staggered to increase the strength of the brick wall. To do this, each brick row is installed so that the end of each brick lands in the middle of the prior brick row bricks. This is called a "running bond brick pattern." Although there are other patterns, such as Flemish bond where the bricks alternate between whole and half bricks, all patterns stagger to increase the brick's structural integrity.


 * 6. What are their advantages and disadvantages?**


 * Advantages**

The biggest advantage of brick siding is that its low maintenance. Once installed, brick siding can last for a very long time. There is no need to paint or perform other upkeep tasks associated with wood or vinyl siding.

Brick comes in a variety of colors and is durable, making it a load bearing building material. Brick siding withstands heat and offers better fire protection than wood and vinyl siding. It also provides a sound barrier, keeping noise outside.


 * Disadvantages**

Brick siding may be more difficult to repair when it becomes damaged. This is especially true for brick siding that is part of a wall system where the individual brick may not be easy to replace without having to remove the entire wall section.

Because brick is made from organic material it is important to keep moisture from seeping into the brick siding. Moisture build-up over time causes brick to crumble and become brittle. Organic brick subject to prolonged exposure to water will become discolored and fade over time.

Reading activities



**What construction material would you use to build your own house? Why? **

//I would use the brick as a building material for my own home, because this material is very sturdy, easy to work, and together, placing them in the right way, they offer great support.//

//Post-reading activities//

**Find out the meaning of the expressions below**


 * 1.** **Brick upon brick**

Refers to two things that can not be separated.
 * 2. Brick & mortar**

**3. Be /come up against a brick wall** Refers to an obstacle can not move forward.

**4. Come down on somebody like a ton of bricks** It refers to a story or some event that is very strong and appears very quickly, surprising the person. **5. Drop a brick** Refers to a person indiscreet. Recording 1

//**Interview: What is your opinion about the uses given to this public space?** //

media type="file" key="take 100.wav" align="center"

**Javier:** Hi Andreina! How are you?.


 * Andreina:** Hi Javier! I`m very fine, and you?.


 * Javier:** I`m so good. And you Stephanie? How are you?


 * Stephanie:** Hello! I`m fine


 * Javier:** You know? I was reading about “Piazza del campo” in Siena, and it`s so interesting because this place is the most important square of the historic center of Siena.

Do you know this place?


 * Andreina:** Yes, I went to this place last year.


 * Stephanie:** Yes! I haveheard ofthis place !


 * Javier:** and tell me Stephanie, what did you hear about this place?


 * Stephanie:** Piazza Del campo is one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity.


 * Javier:** oh yes!

Also, La Piazza was a marketplace established before the thirteenth century on a sloping site near the meeting point of the three hillside communities that coalesced to form Siena: the Castellare, the San Martino and the Camollia.

Now, Andreina tell me about this square from the point of view of an architect. **How has brick been used in Piazza del Campo?**


 * Andreina:** Well, it was paved in 1349 in fishbone-patterned red brick with ten lines of travertine, which divide the piazza into nine sections, radiating from the mouth of the gavinone in front of the Palazzo Pubblico.


 * Javier:**The number of divisions are held to be symbolic of the rule of The Nine (Noveschi) who laid out the campo and governed Siena at the height of its mediaeval splendour between 1292-1355.


 * Andreina:** in addition, the unity of the Late Gothic houses surrounding the square, is affected in part by the uniformity of the bricks of which their walls are built: brick-making was a monopoly of the commune, which saw that standards were maintained.


 * Javier:** Ohh this topic is so interesting and I think that is amazing.

Thanks Andreina for this interview!


 * Stephanie:** This place is very interesting! It Is an architectural gem! I really want to visit this place. Thank you very much!


 * Javier:** You’re welcome!


 * Stephanie:** ok, you’re welcome! Bye.

Bye, see you on another presentation!


 * Javier:** Sure, bye!